Agent spills Southampton FC transfer truth over move for Spurs man Manor Solomon | OneFootball

Southampton were turned down by Manor Solomon in the January transfer window

Manor Solomon’s agent Shlomy Ben Ezra has confirmed that the forward turned down the option to join Southampton in the January transfer window.

The winger has fallen out of favour at Tottenham Hotspur, and has not been a part of Thomas Frank’s plans since his arrival as head coach in the summer.

The 26-year-old spent last season out on loan at Leeds United, where he proved an important part of their promotion success in the Championship.

But his lack of game time at Spurs led to him making the switch to Villarreal in the summer on a temporary basis.

However, he made just six appearances in La Liga in the first half of the campaign, and he was recalled in the winter market in order to secure a move to Serie A instead.

Manor Solomon turned down Southampton approach

Ben Ezra has claimed that Solomon turned down an offer to join Southampton for the second half of the season after his struggles in Spain.

He’s suggested that the forward was not interested in a move back to the Championship despite his impressive form in Daniel Farke’s side in the previous campaign.

“Yes, he had the option to go to Southampton, but he didn’t want to go to the second division,” said Ben Ezra, via Sport 5.

Solomon made 39 appearances in the second division last season, contributing 10 goals and 12 assists to help Leeds clinch the league title ahead of Burnley.

Farke’s side earned 100 points en route to promotion back to the Premier League, but he returned to Tottenham Hotspur in the summer instead of completing a permanent move.

The winger has already made six appearances in Serie A since his January move, the same number of games he played in La Liga for Villarreal.

Meanwhile, Southampton are 14th in the Championship table, seven points adrift of the play-off places ahead of this weekend’s clash against Watford on Saturday.

Manor Solomon signing could’ve been great for Southampton

Solomon showed last year that he is a quality Championship level player, helping with 22 goal contributions in Leeds’ promotion success.

So bringing him to the club for the second half of the season would’ve been a great signing if they could’ve gotten it done.

But their poor first half of the season likely made it an easy decision for the forward to instead sign for Fiorentina, who are themselves at risk of relegation to Serie B this year.

If Southampton were right in the mix for promotion, then they could’ve provided a possible pathway to Premier League football in the future, which might’ve made them an enticing option, but instead they’re languishing outside the play-offs.